Magners League Official Website : Woodward names side to face Southland

Woodward names side to face Southland

19 June 2005, 10:43 am

By Graham Jenkins

Lions boss Clive Woodward has named his side to face Southland on Tuesday and in doing so has given a clear hint as to what form his Test team will take next weekend.

Commenting on the selection, Woodward said: "We have a strong squad, and the strength of the side picked for Southland shows that.

"I have made clear that the players selected for Southland will not feature in the first Test, but that does not mean they do not have the opportunity to play in the second and third Tests. That is underlined by the history of Lions tours down the years. I want these players to keep challenging for Test places as the Tour goes on by their performance on Tuesday.

"Another lesson of Lions tours is that they where they have been successful, it has been when the unity of the squad has been strong.

"If we win the Test series, it will not just be a win for the players out on the pitch, but for the whole squad. All 45 have all been fantastic in helping to create the environment we need to win."

On being selected as captain Michael Owen commented, "It is an honour to be selected as captain again, the spirit of the squad is fantastic. We are looking forward to the Southland game, to work together as a team and, as we saw with the game against Otago, we all want to keep the pressure on and push for the test places."

And a disppointed Gavin Henson added, "Obviously everyone wants to play in the Tests, so there is bound to be some disappointment at not being selected for the first Test on Saturday. But competition was always going to be fierce, and this is a squad full of world-class players. The challenge for me now is to play to the best of my ability when selected, keep challenging, and keep learning from the experience."

Ian McGeechan commented: "I have been on many tours, as a player and coach, and when we have won, the people to thank have often as not been the people who did not play in Tests but who helped create a winning environment for those who did.

"This is a terrific group of players and they have worked very hard to create that winning environment. What is more, there will be players selected for Southland who without doubt will feature in future Tests.

The mood in the squad is very positive. The excitement is growing. The next step is to win against Southland."

The team is as follows:
15 Geordan MURPHY (Leicester Tigers, Ireland)
14 Mark CUETO (Sale Sharks, England)
13 Ollie SMITH (Leicester Tigers, England)
12 Gavin HENSON (Ospreys, Wales)
11 Denis HICKIE (Leinster, Ireland)
10 Ronan O'GARA (Munster, Ireland) VICE CAPTAIN
9 Gareth COOPER (Dragons, Wales)
1 Matt STEVENS (Bath, England)
2 Andy TITTERRELL (Sale Sharks, England)
3 John HAYES (Munster, Ireland)
4 Simon SHAW (London Wasps, England)
5 Donncha O'CALLAGHAN (Munster, Ireland)
6 Lewis MOODY (Leicester Tigers, England)
7 Martyn WILLIAMS (Blues, Wales)
8 Michael OWEN (Dragons, Wales) CAPTAIN

16 Gordon BULLOCH (Glasgow, Scotland)
17 Andy SHERIDAN (Sale Sharks, England)
18 Simon EASTERBY (Llanelli, Ireland)
19 Chris CUSITER (Borders, Scotland)
20 Charlie HODGSON (Sale Sharks, England)
21 Tom SHANKLIN (Blues, Wales)
22 Gordon D'ARCY (Leinster, Ireland)